workers charter

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The vicious and brutal ‘war on drugs’ that President Duterte unleashed (see here and here), since the start of his Presidency, continues to ravage Filipino working class communities. In the first five months of his rule, the number of people killed in this campaign has now reached 5,000, whether from police or right wing death squads. Duterte has in the past threatened to prosecute those who stand in the way of this campaign, but recently he has upped the pressure by threatening to kill human rights activists who oppose his war on drugs.

No to the War on Drugs! No to extrajudicial impunity! Stop the killings!

The embattled and scandal ridden government of President Park Geun-hye attempted to stop the planned general strike by Korean workers by declaring any strike action by workers as illegal. On the 30 November, over 200,000 workers demonstrated in central Seoul in a strong and defiant protest against the continuing attempts by the Park administration to attack and weaken the workers’ movement. While President Park has stated that she will consider resigning, another huge protest occurred in Seoul on Saturday 3 December.

In the last few weeks there have been huge demonstrations by far right Islamic groups calling for the resignation of Jakarta’s governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok, for blasphemy. While the demonstrations on the 4 November and on the 2 December, saw hundreds of thousands of working class people take part, many of the workers involved were not part of these religious groups. For many workers, their anger against Ahok is related to his policies of large slum clearance program which has affected many poor working class communities in Jakarta. In addition, trade unions are protesting against the inadequate new minimum wage for the Jakarta region, though this has proved divisive for the workers’ movement.

After the election in the USA, and witnessing the rise of the far right in Australia, the union movement - and particularly union rank and file members - need to take a lead in the fight against racism. Trades Hall has partnered with a number of unions and community groups to hold a rally and festival celebrating and defending multiculturalism. Join a free family friendly street party celebrating the great diversity of our society. There will be music, food, cultural exhibitions and rides for the kids.

The period under the dictatorial rule of President Marcos between 1972 until 1981 is characterised by the routine beatings, arrests and murders of labour and human rights activists. President Marcos was expelled via a popular uprising in 1981 and died in the USA a few years later. The current Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte reignited past wounds by allowing Marcos’ remains to be buried in the ‘Cemetery of the Heroes’ in Metro Manila. This decision provoked mass opposition and protest by many human rights and labour groups who see Marcos as a dictator and a murderer. The protests have also surprisingly generated widespread opposition from a younger generation who see this burial as an attempt to re-write Filipino history.

AAWL is concluding this year’s series of film fundraisers by turning its focus to Africa with the screening of ‘The First Grader’. The film takes a personal story to focus on the failed Mau Mau national liberation movement and the struggle by former activists to be recognised in an independent Kenya. Check out the facebook event page here.

Earlier this month, a fire at an illegally run garment factory in a residential area of Sahibabad, New Delhi, killed 13 workers. The fire occurred early in the morning and killed the workers as they were asleep in the factory building itself. In India’s rapid industrialisation over the last two decades, it is the workers who are paying the price with many fatal accidents occurring all over India. Amid the carnage, some sections of the workers’ movement like the garment workers around Bangalore, have been able to make improvements through direct action and workplace organising.

Following on from last week’s big protests in Malaysia, and in many other cities around the world, the Malaysian government has stepped up repression against the anti-corruption movement. Maria Chin Abdullah, one of the leaders of Bersih, had been arrested prior to the demonstration with a number of others. Maria Chin is now being held for allegedly violating the recently proclaimed Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA), also known as the anti-terror law. SOSMA allows people to be detained without charge for long periods. This development has brought back memories of when the ISA was used to suppress dissent in Malaysia.